Built-up gun.



Patented Dec. 3l, |901;

'l'. J. LOVETT.- BUILT-UP GUN. (Appiication led July 1.6, 189.8. Renewed July 12, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UN IT ED' .PATENT OFFICE..

.THOMAS J. LOVIJT'I, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIs'AssIGNOR To THE-CHICAGO O RDNANCE CO., Os CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

'.'BulLT-UP GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,066, dated December 31, 1901. i v Application filed July 16, 1898. Renewed July 12. 1901. Serial-No. 67,974. (No modelJ l I To @ZZ whom t may concerne Be'it known that LTHOMAS J. LOVETT,a citizen of the'United States, residing at Chicago,-

in the county of Cookand State of Illinois,

have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ordnance, (foi-.which I have received Lettes Patent of the Kingdom of Belgium, No. 137,324, dated August 10, 1898, and in Austria, No.48/'4,861, dated October l, 1898,) of

Io which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ordnance construction, and more particularly i, to improvements in Cannon of the built-upv type, 4 My object is to provide acomposlte cannon so constructed that it may be readily taken apart and'put together again in the .eld, if desired, to renew parts which mayvhave become' injured and to render itstransportation 2o from place to place, and to locations where the cannon if in one piece could not be carried, comparatively easy to accomplish.

My object is also to provide a construction of ordnance wherein the gun is practically 2 5 free 'from the danger of crystallization following the terrific concussive force of modern high-power explosives. It is a well-known fact that guns made. of steel as hitherto constructed and subjected in the making to the most carefu'l treatment will in a comparatively short time be injuriously affected by the jarring action of the discharge to such an extent as to render their further use unsafe'. It appears that the very 3 5 high elasticity of the steel, especially where the ibers thereof extend longitudinally of the gun,- by readily transmitting thel shocks, contributes to render certain and quickthe molecular change in structure of the steel, known as crystallization, which ruins the.

gun.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1A is a side View of a dismounted gun embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of the gun; Fig. 3, a front elevation of lone of the rings or annuliv of the construction I preferl to employ in forming the .gung Fig. 4, afview of a modification of the inner tube employed; and Fig.- a; rear elevation v ted together as shown in the drawings, the

of one of the annuli, showing it provided 5o with perforations to receive bolts or securing-rods. l l j n s' In the construction shown in Fig. 2, A is an inner -tube extending the full length of the gun and Aprovided throughout its length 5 5, with an external screw-thread. vInternally the tube may bejried.

. B and C- are sections or annuli, which make up the largest bulk of the' gun-body and are preferably formed as hereinafter described.l j.

The sections B eachconsist of an inner ring t, an outer ring 1', and anintermediate ring s; The' rings tr are formed, preferably, of steel,

cut or stamped from rolled and treated plates or formed from bars shaped and welded together at the ends. The ring `ris formed, preferably, of a non-elastic shock-deadening ma-A A terial, which may be-asbestos prepared with a suitable binding and compressed to the required solidity. The inner rings t are' inter- 7o nally threadedto fit the thread of the inner tube A, and the outer rings r are formed on` one side with annular projecting anges r', internally threaded, and on the other side with threaded sockets r2, as shown. The sections C .are of steel, formed with threaded flanges and sockets, like the rings r, and internally threaded, like the rings t, to lit the thread of the tube A. The sections are iitv 86 threads on the flan ges r and reduced or socket portions r2 being of the same pitch as the thread upon the tube, whereby the sectionsmay be turned upon the tube in placing'them The-'gunthus built up will resist all danger of sagging at any part. l

The barrel may be mounted in any suitable manner. I have shown it provided with trunnions D, projecting from a ring D', suitably fastened upon the gun-body. The gunmay be of the breech or muzzle loading type sof far as my invention is concerned. I have shown the inner ltube A provided at lthe 'rear end with an enlargement A'-,'in which is pro- 95 vided a breech-block chamber A2; but the dee. tails of theconstruction may vary greatly:- wi/thout departure from my invention. At

1n position and will'readily match together. 8

the extreme rear end of the barrel I prefer to provide an annular cap-piece E, of solid steel, thus providing for the complete incasement of the filling material s.

constructio'nherein shown, among which are the reduced weight of the gun itself, owing to the lling'material, which may be materially and put together.

lighter than steel, and the great ease with which it may be taken apart and put together for transportation 'or replacement of parts. It is muchmore easy in the manufacture of the gun, also, to make the parts of uniform strength than where the entire gun is in one piece. It is a comparatively easy matterato provide a tube A, either as shown in Fig. 2 or with a jacket, as shown in Fig. 4, of the maximum strength of metal throughout and to remove and replace the tube when its riding becomes worn.

It is believed to be entirely novel to build up a gun in such a manner that layers or concentric shells of tough and elastic steel shall be separated by` sections of comparatively nou-elastic4 shock-deadening material, whose function is to preserve the outer or principal bursting-strain-resisting shell from crystallization. I therefore wish to include in my invention any construction wherein this prin ciple Vis utilized, whatever material lmay be used for the filling, be it mineral or vegetable in its nature, and regardless of the particular.

manner in which the parts are constructed The filling may be made in part of metal or metals combined in such a manner as to eect the useful result herein If desired, the inner tube A may be formed filling.

It may not be necessary to -'distribute the shock deadening material throughout the length of the barrel, and a modification by which the shock-deadening material extends from the breech part way of the length of the barrel will come Within my invention.

While I prefer t0 construct my improvements throughout as shown, they may be variously modified in the matter of details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention as defined by the claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters'Patent, isl l. In' a gun, the combination' with the barrel, of metallic rings concentric with the barreland constituting a sectional metallic shell, and intermediate sectional non metallic shock-deadening material, substantially as described. y

2. In a gun, the combination with the gunbarrel ot rings of metal concentric with the barrel and aiording a sectional .shell therefor, and disks of shock-deadening material fitting closely between the rings and barrel,

described; butI' prefer to use a non-metallic and affording a sectional filling, about the gun-barrel, substantially as described.

3. In a gun, the barrel comprising, in combination, an inner tube, and an outer shell secured on said tube, formed with sections, each having concentric rings of metal, and an interposed sectional filling of shock-deadening material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

s. In a` gun, the combination in the gunbarrel, of a series of composite sections comprising inner and outer rings of steel separated by shock-deadening material, said sectionsbeing secured together longitudinally of the barrel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' y THOMAS J. LOVETT. In presence of R. T. SPENCER, DAN W. LEE. 

